New Life
by lost-angel62
Summary: Edward changed Bella. Now, together, they can face everything thrown at them. Or can they?
1. Awakening

The pain was incredible. Emmett watched over her, refusing to let Edward near. Her screams tormented him to the point of violence. If Carlisle wasn't there, bad things would have happened. Bella, poor little Bella. She was curled up in a fetal position with her eyes clamped shut on the floor of the Cullen guest room. Several times she screamed for him and several times he was held back.

Four days later, it ended. The screaming, the violence, all done. Alice was holding Edward on the couch as she came down the stairs. Emmett remained at the top in a daze. She glided down the stairs in a manner that would normally trip her. Edward stared at his love in shock.

"Bella," he muttered, "what have I done to you?" She was beautiful, of course. Her body was mostly the same, but there was an inhuman, indescribable beauty to her. The only draw back to her new features, were her black, blood thirsty eyes. Edward ran to her and wrapped her in his arms, not prepared to let her go anytime soon.

She looked up at him. "Edward, I love you. But, right now, I'm feeling really strange and craving food. Take me hunting, please." She said all this very quietly, absorbing his embrace. Everything smelled and heard so much better. Her senses were heightened and it was wonderful. Edward smiled his beautiful, crooked smile and led her out the door wordlessly.

After they left, the Cullens breathed a sigh of relief. Edward was at ease and Bella was out of pain. The last four days were the most painstaking that they ever experienced. Watching Edward being miserable and hearing Bella scream was more than they could take. Emmett was the only one to watch her because he was the only one strong enough to keep Edward from interfering. They knew that once he bit her, she would have to change without him around.

Alice finally spoke, after many moments of silence. "I wonder when he will propose formally." She was really giddy now that the stress was over.

"Now Alice," Carlisle responded, "we are _not_ going to push him. He has been under much pain these past few days and we don't need to pressure him."

Emmett jumped into the conversation then after bounding down the stairs. "Carlisle's right, what are we going to do about the werewolves? We did break the treaty after all."

"_We_ didn't break any treaty. That was all Edward. He was the only one to sink his teeth into her neck," said Rosalie sourly. She was a bit warmer towards Bella now that she was one of them, but she didn't want the entire family in trouble.

"Oh, stop being bitter Rose," exclaimed Alice. "We all had a say in it. Majority rules so we are all to blame."

Rosalie began sulking and Emmett went to comfort her. They continued talking until Bella and Edward came home three hours later. The other Cullens had suspicions that they were doing more than hunting. Bella through a pillow at Emmett for bringing coming up with that theory.

As they were all talking later that evening, Bella got the urge to ask a question that no one wanted to answer.

"What happened over the past four days? The last thing I remember was Edward leaning towards my neck."


	2. Flashback

Night never felt so cold. There they were, Charlie and Renee, colder than death itself, staring up at Bella with blank faces. The tears would not stop pouring. Edward was no where to be found and Victoria had fled. Jacob Black looked at her with the typical "I told you so" face. He may hate her, but he didn't want her dead and when Victoria threatened Bella after killing her parents, he phased.

Nothing frightened her more than that moment. Jacob, not Edward, was facing Victoria and her parents were there dead. Bella was only moments away from fainting.

"Jacob…" she whimpered. The cursed tears would not dry.

"Bella, please understand. We are not friends. You are as good as one of them. If I were to let you die, well, that would be my own death sentence." He looked so innocent and angry. Then, his eyes bugged out as if he'd seen a ghost.

"What have you done dog?" She realized what had scared him. Edward only saw Charlie and Renee and me, crying.

Bella looked up at him. "You will know what happened if you think," _please realize what I'm saying to you._

He did. "Get away from here, before I lose my temper. And," he added with no remorse or gratitude, "if you ever come near this place again, I will, personally, rip you limb from limb."

_You don't need to tell me twice._ He ran off into the woods towards his house. They could just see him phase into the werewolf that he was to get away faster.

Edward wrapped Bella in his arms and run her home. The police would soon be there, but when they arrived would be nothing to see because Edward sent Alice back to deal with the bodies.

When they arrived back at the Cullen mansion, she had just started to calm down. Normally running would have nauseated her at a time like this, but she was to busy clinging to Edward to notice the rushing trees or the speed.

"Bella, Bella honey, look here, you're home now," said her love trying to get her to speak. She just clung to a pillow and started crying again.

"NO!!" she yelled. "This is not home. It won't be until my family is free of danger. No one else should die because of me." Everyone, including Rosalie, looked on her with pity and sadness. Edward was right beside her holding and rocking her.

"Honey, none of this is your fault. It's mine, I killed James and no one was on guard while Renee was there. It was foolish." He knew it was a hopeless waste of breath, but it made him feel better saying it.

"I just wish I knew why she is hurting people I love and not me," she sobbed.

"This is how she's hurting you. Don't let her do this stay here."

Carlisle finally "woke up." "Edward, you know what must be done now. She has no choice but to stay here. We cannot leave her alone when we must hunt. You have to do it now."

A deathly silence filled the room. Bella looked up at all of them with watery eyes, stopping at Edward with a pleading look. "He's right. I'm too much of a hassle to care for when I'm a human."

He shook his head. _She can't possibly think that, after all that, I would change her now. I can't bear to see her in any more pain. _"I can't. You don't know what it's like. The pain, the feeling of being a monster, I don't want you to have to deal with it too." He looked so hurt, but Bella's mind was set.

"Edward Cullen, if you love me as much as you say you do, then we should go through the same things together. If you won't change me now, then I'll have Alice or Carlisle do it." _Let him make what he wants out of that. This time, I will win. _

Everyone was shaking their head. They all knew that Edward would have to do it, they also knew it would be hard for him.

"Bella, you don't realize that this will pain me as much as it will pain you. I want to, but, what if I don't have enough control."

"I don't believe it. You won't change me. I need this Edward. Please," she replied quietly. He broke down. The next thing anyone knew, he was carrying her up to the guest room. One by one, the rest of the Cullens followed.

Edward laid her down on the floor so she wouldn't roll off the bed and hurt herself. He kissed her full on the lips for the last time of her human existence. Then, with incredible slowness, he put is teeth against her throat and sank his fangs into her flesh. He remained that way for a long thirty seconds before Carlisle rushed in and pulled him away. Jasper and Alice pulled him down stairs as the insane screaming began.

"Emmett, if I know Edward as well as I think I do, then he will do everything he can to get in there. Do not let him in. The last thing he needs to do is see her in physical pain," explained Carlisle after handing him a chair.

Alice and Jasper forced the struggling vampire onto a chair. It was a challenge but they succeeded. He was angry and uncontrollable.

"Alice, this is going to be too hard if he stays in the house," whispered Jasper. "We need to take him away."

"For how long, Jasper? We can't keep him away when the transformation is complete. I can't see anything, but keeping him away will be impossible." Alice was worried not only for the safety of her family, but also the safety of the people of Forks.

"We could take Bella away," suggested Esme.

Alice shook her head no. "He will follow and now that the transformation has begun, we won't be able to move her."

For three more days they continued in this manner. Emmett took quite a beating trying to keep Edward away from Bella, who was screaming in agony. She was only screaming and rolling around in a fetal position. Bella was not standing or sitting up. Her thoughts were a void, but they all knew it was worth it.

On day three she stopped howling in pain and was content with whimpering. Edward was a little relived, but not completely. His edginess made Jasper have to leave because Edward's emotions were so overpowering. Esme was brought to tears seeing her family in so much pain. Carlisle was never home because Edward blamed him for forcing this upon them.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon they heard it. Bella began shrieking again and her lover was trying to get past Emmett who took all the hits and only held his brother back.

"KILL ME!!!!!!! OH, PLEASE SOMEONE KILL ME!!"

It took the strength of Emmett, Alice, Rosalie, and Esme to keep Edward out of that room. He was trying with every part of his body to get through the door to Bella.

Eventually, she stopped and was left crying. Edward calmed down and was pushed down the stairs. He sat on the chair for the rest of the day, and all of the fourth day. Esme was sitting beside him the whole time, comforting and consoling her son.

Day four passed quietly and without incident. Alice claimed to see no pain on Bella's part today and Jasper, who came home early the previous night, was working hard to calm down Edward. That was a lot easier than he thought it would be because of Edwards strong anger towards himself.

That evening, it was all over. The door to the guest room opened and Emmett stepped out of the way to let the newest vampire member of the family get through.


	3. Relief

I just want to thank all my reviewers. Last chapter was fun, if a little depressing to write/ type. I hope this one is nice for you.

All of it was too much to absorb for Bella. The thought that she caused Edward so much pain and couldn't remember any of it was excruciating. As she was hearing it retold, she remembered why exactly Renee had come up to Forks, away from Phil and sunny Phoenix.

"She just wanted visit. She was worried about me wondered what was going on. I tried to convince her against it, but she's too stubborn to listen to me," whispered Bella. Edward was still beside her his perfect face contorted into a frown. That was one story that he never wanted retold. Carlisle was the teller, but that didn't stop him from butting in every now and again.

"You can't even begin to imagine the pain he was in," responded Jasper, the only one, other than Edward, who could even start to imagine that pain. "There was a time when I had to leave because I couldn't be around the two of you."

Bella was slowly shaking her head. _I feel so selfish now. If I wasn't so stubborn about becoming one of them, I could have saved the both of us a lot of pain._

"It's not your fault, Bella. Don't be thinking that," said Jasper.

"He's right. We should be happy now that this is all over," agreed Esme.

"Yeah, we should try and figure out what your talent is. It's got to be good. You were immune to everything else," Emmett chimed in. He was clearly way too excited.

Bella just sat there and looked at the floor. Figuring out her talent was not the first item on her to do list. They still had the Volturi and Victoria to deal with before they could be relaxed. She needed to talk to Edward before these things were forgotten.

"Bella, are you all right?" asked Edward.

She looked up. "I'm fine," she sighed. "I just need to lie down." With that, she walked gracefully out of the room and up to Edward's bedroom. Out of instinct and curiosity, he followed behind her.

He stood in the doorway and looked at her sad face. He tried to read her mind, though part of him knew he couldn't.

"Look, Edward, I know you me to relax, but I just can't. Not yet." She didn't even look up when he came in the room.

"How could you know that? I didn't say anything." She looked up when he said that.

"What? I heard you say 'Bella, just relax. You got what you wanted.' You're telling me that you didn't just say that?"

Edward looked really puzzled. "No, that's what I-," he cut himself off and a grin spread across his face. "I think I may know what your talent is."

Bella looked up into his beautiful face as he sat down beside her. "You can read minds like I can. That's odd though. I didn't think we'd have the same talent."

"Edward, I'm sorry, but I don't care what my talent might be at the moment. I want to get my parents back."

He looked at her with the saddest look possible. "We can't get them back. But we can get rid of Victoria. We will start with getting some rest and relaxing. You are distraught, confused, and not yourself. Would you like to go to the meadow?"

She stood up and crossed to the other side of the room. "Yes, I'd like that. Let's go now before I change my mind or something happens that changes it for me."

Edward took her hand and led her down stairs. When they reached the bottom he explained to Carlisle that they were going for a run and probably wouldn't be back for a while.

Bella found that she really enjoyed running. It came so easily now. She understood why Edward enjoyed it so much. Of course, it was much more enjoyable since she wasn't clinging to him out of fear for her life. The wind in her face made her wake up a little better. They reached the meadow in two minutes.

There was a lot of space between them. Edward wanted Bella to relax and for that, she was grateful.

After several painful moments of silence, Edward approached her. "So, do you want to tell me what's bothering you? I thought you would be happier now that you got what you finally wanted."

"Oh Edward, I am happy. Is it too much to ask to be allowed to be sad about my parents' deaths? I just want them back." She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her and whipped the tears off her cheek.

"Okay. We'll get through this, all of us. The family will help." This comforted her.

"I guess you want to know what's bothering me then." She felt him nod. "We've been hunting Victoria for a long time and now that I can help, everyone just wants me to relax. I don't understand. And, to make things even better, the Volturi won't waste anytime in finding out if you've changed me."

This angered him a little bit. "You've just been changed. That's the only reason we are taking it easy. You need to learn your limits. Honestly, do you think we could keep Emmett away from this fight much longer?" She shook her head in understanding. "As for the Volturi, like I've said before they won't visit for a long time. We don't need to worry about them. So stop worrying. I love you and we'll get through this."

With that, they laid back and stared at the cloudy Forks sky. Then, Bella remembered one fairly important detail. It was April, and, in the world of being a student, they were still in school.

"What's going to happen now Edward? We are still in school and I don't think we can go back after missing it for so many days."

He pondered the situation for a few moments. "We'll have to ask Carlisle about that. He may want us to relocate to Denali, but he may want us to drop out. It doesn't matter anymore. Don't worry about it."

The evening went on until the sun began to set. It was the most beautiful ending to the most relieving day anyone could ask for. The sky was colored with pinks, yellows, and oranges. Swirling clouds left a pattern so fascinating that Bella was sorry she didn't have her camera.

Well, I hoped you liked that one. It's not as long as I thought it would be. Please review.


	4. Proposal

I kind of let the talent issue up in the air. It's still in development, but, to all you worried people, it will come out in this chapter or the next one. Thank you, once again, to all of you who reviewed.

They arrived back at home at the crack of dawn. The sun was barely visible through the cloudy Forks sky. It was going to rain heavily today and they were hoping for a storm. Bella had, after all, never actually played a game of baseball and wanted to give it a try.

When they walked through they door, they found a not on the counter.

'Alice says it's going to storm. Come play ball with us. Bella, you'll love it. We're at the usual place. We won't start until you get here so hurry. – Emmett.'

"Well, we shouldn't keep them waiting. I wonder when they left, it's still early," said Edward with a huge smile on his face. Bella was a lot more cheerful than the previous night and was smiling with him.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to keep Emmett waiting. Playing has got to be more fun than just watching." They stood there in silence for a moment. Then Bella said playfully, "Race you to the car."

They took off running into the jeep. Bella found herself not bouncing around like she did last time. She also didn't care when she saw the speed they were going.

"Can't we go any faster?"

Edward looked over at her, surprised. "What ever happened to obeying the speed limit? You used to freak out when I drove this fast."

She gave him a powty look and gave up. It was nice having him in a good mood and it kept her perky. They arrived in ten minutes then took off running.

Alice was the first to notice them. "I saw you coming. Come on lets get started."

They all smiled. "You would. Did you tell anyone else when we'd get here?" asked Edward.

"I did. They're just setting up and waiting for thunder." There was a loud clap of thunder. Carlisle came running over to great them.

"Oh good, you saw Emmett's note. Esme, are you refereeing?" They all new that she would. After they divided up into teams it was Carlisle, Edward, and Bella against Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice. Everyone was eager to see how Bella, the newest addition to their family, would do in the game.

Carlisle's team was up by the sixth inning. Bella was proving to be a very hard hitter and fast runner. She hit as hard as Emmett and could run almost as fast as Edward. After about three hours of good game play, the rain ceased and they had to stop. Carlisle ran to retrieve the bases and they all walked somberly back to their cars.

The eight vampires arrived back at the house with no surprises. There were no evil vampires hunting them after all.

"So, how was it for you're first game?" asked Rosalie. She was definitely friendlier now that she had time to accept Bella's change.

"It was wonderful. It was much more fun playing than watching." They all nodded in agreement.

They discussed when their next hunting trip would be and tried to figure out what Bella's talent could be. They knew that she could read minds but she only could after Edward tried to read hers. Alice was talking about Bella's power being a combination of Aro's and Edward's when she froze.

"Alice, what is it? What do you see?" asked Jasper anxiously. When Alice sees something big coming she just goes into a trance and they all noticed it.

"Shh, I'm concentrating." There were a couple more minutes of agonizing silence while she saw the future play out. "The Volturi, they're coming. They will want to see Bella and they will want to know what her talent is." Alice looked at them with a sad look. "They can see Bella as one of us, but they won't see her talent and that may anger them."

"We can't push this Alice. We may know what it is when they get here, we may not. Hopefully I can figure it out by then, but it may take a while," Bella replied. Edward put his arm around her instead of voicing his opinion on the matter.

"Do you know when they will arrive?" inquired Carlisle. Edward could see the plan playing out on his face.

"They will be here within the month. I can't see the exact date."

"Okay, if Bella doesn't realize her full talent by the end of next week, we will go to Denali. There we should-." Emmett cut in angrily.

"No, we should stay her. They will follow us to Denali any way."

"Oh Emmett, why do you always have to start fights?" asked Rosalie.

"He's right. We can make something up when they arrive," agreed Bella. "When we left Italy, they only said that they wanted to see me changed. They never said anything about my talent. For all they could know, I don't have a talent."

"I've said it before, I'll say it again. She's devious. That will work." Emmett loved the Bella's mind worked. They all pondered this. It would be difficult for them to leave and, no matter what, the Volturi would follow them.

"We'll stay," decided Carlisle. "Bella is one of us now so we don't have to hide."

After that, there was no real discussion. They all went there own ways. Carlisle went to his study, Esme went to her room to read, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and Alice watched the television, and Bella and Edward went to his room.

"So," said Bella as she flung herself onto Edward's bed. "What do the immortal do at times like this?"

He walked over and sat down beside her. "Times like what? When someone is, once again put in danger because of what the people she loves are?"

She sighed, exasperated. "No, at night. When we can't sleep and the rest of the world is a sleep."

"Ah, that time. Well, we could dream. Just doze off and pretend that we're sleeping."

Bella looked at him with big, now golden, eyes. "I don't want to sleep. I'm like you now. I want to have some fun."

This time he looked troubled; like he had a severe dilemma going on in his head that he wasn't sharing with anyone. It was hard for Bella to see him so troubled.

"You're regretting that you changed me aren't you?"

He looked up at her, shocked. "What would make you say that?"

"You look sad every time you look at me. Did something get lost in the transformation?" Then, to lighten the atmosphere, she added, "Do I not smell as good anymore?"

Edward laughed. It was a glorious sound in the dark night. "You smell just as good as ever. And I don't regret what I did. I'm just thinking about my next trick."

Bella smiled and sat up. "You're next trick? I didn't know there was more."

Lightly he pulled her off the bed and got down on his knee in front of her. Bella's face flushed as much as a vampire's face could as he pulled out and opened a little black, velvet box.

"Isabella Swan, I have loved, and always will love you. I would be honored if you would marry me." He slipped the ring on her finger and stood up to look into her eyes to see the answer.

Her eyes welled with happy tears. "Yes, and I would be honored to marry you." At that moment, the other six Cullens ran into the room congratulating them now that Edward actually proposed formally. Alice was the one who announced it to the family when he was going to do it.

"Okay everyone," said Esme. "Let's leave them alone."

"Yes, besides, we have a wedding to plan," exclaimed Alice cheerfully. They all hurried out the door. When the room was empty, Bella and Edward embraced.

"I hope you didn't spend too much on this rock," said Bella sarcastically. The ring had a single diamond in the center. The band was silver with small sapphires around it.

"Oh yes," he responded just as sarcastically. "It was horribly expensive but I had to pick that one because I just knew it would bother you."

She gave him a light hit on the chest for being sarcastic. "Oh, I hope Alice doesn't go too overboard with the plans. I hate getting dressed up."

"You'll look beautiful in whatever she puts you in."

"You have no choice but to say that. We need to think about who's coming."

It was Edward's turn to sigh this time. "We don't have to think about this tonight."

"You're right. I should kiss you though. That's what couples do when they're engaged." With that, they began their 'lip- locking.' They held each other for the rest of the night.

Forks had a gorgeous sunrise. The clouds left enough of a break for the sun to get through and cast rays over the dense forest. Morning also brought an unpleasant surprise. The door bell rang while they were all sitting around the piano listening to Edward play. Carlisle answered the door.

"Hello," a sickly familiar voice said. "We said we would be come."

Well, that's chapter four. Exciting? I hope so. Cliff hanger, but I think you all know who was at the door. Chapter five may take a while to put up as I'm going to be on vacation for the rest of the month. I will be working on it though. Please review.


	5. Deadly Gift

Sorry this has taken so long. I've been away and trying to start this back up after everything has been hard. Plus I had to do a bit of memory refreshing.

There they stood, in the doorway of the Cullen home. In their typical black cloaks stood Aro, Caius, Marcus, Felix, Demetri, Jane, and Alec. They came all the way from their safe haven in Volterra to fulfill their promise.

Clouds quickly covered the beautiful sky and they pulled down their hoods. Nothing had changed about them.

"May we come in, Carlisle?" asked Aro.

Carlisle simply nodded and showed them in. They all sat down at the dining room table which was, fortunately, big enough for everyone. Bella and Edward sat the furthest away from them. Aro was at one end of the table, Carlisle at the other.

There was a long moment of silence. Bella, with her gift that matched Edward's, was hearing their thoughts even though, at the moment, she just wanted to hear nothing. Edward, on the other hand, was listening intently to everyone that wasn't family. Before Aro started to speak, Alice, who had previously had her eyes shut, opened her eyes and stared at Bella. She had seen the future and wasn't entirely sure if she liked it or not.

"Well, you know why we're here. Did you do what you promised?" Aro scanned the table looking for her.

Carlisle looked at Edward and Bella before he spoke. "Yes, just this past week actually. Bella, would you please stand up?"

She stood up slowly and turned to face the Volturi. After she knew they saw her she sat down. All the while she was clutching Edward's hand.

"Well, gentlemen, and lady, if that's all you came for then I would like it if you would go before you get thirsty. We don't need anymore hikers vanishing," said Carlisle, very politely.

Demetri looked up from his stupor. "Wait Carlisle, there is the question of her gift. What is it? She may prove useful to us."

"I'm staying here," said Bella just before Edward silenced her.

"We aren't entirely sure what it is yet. She can read minds, like I can, but I keep waiting for something else to happen," replied Edward, trying to be as honest as possible.

"I was wondering if she is still immune to us. That would be extraordinary. Bella?" asked Aro.

Bella shrugged, walked over and extended her hand. Alice quickly stood up.

"You don't want to be doing that, Aro," she said just before Bella touched him.

He recoiled and looked at her slightly. "Why don't I want to be doing that?"

"Just trust me on this. Bella, you don't want to do that later." _I'll explain once they leave. _Bella nodded in response to the exchange. Edward gave Alice a quick, questioning look.

"Jane, dear, why don't you try?" said Aro. Before Alice could say no again, Jane tried to make Bella collapse in pain. Alice winced as she knew watched. But, Bella stood there, strong like last time.

Aro looked abashed, so did the rest of the Volturi. Without a word, they left the room and exited the house. Bella was relieved. She thought that they would have to go over the deaths of her parents. Alice looked sad. Her vision wasn't something comforting and came on its own.

When it was clear the Volturi were well on their way back to Italy, the Cullens relaxed. They then went into the sitting room to discus Alice's timely vision.

Edward was the first one to start questioning her. "Why, Alice? He was furious, they all were. The Volturi won't trust us now."

Alice starred angrily at the floor. "I'm sorry," she retorted. "How do you think she would like it if every time you touched her she would see into your past? I didn't want to put that on her."

"What are you talking about, Alice?" asked Bella quietly. "What did you see?"

She looked up from the floor. "In short, I saw what you gift is. You, what's the right word, absorb the gifts that other vampires use on you. You don't take them, though. When Edward tried to read your mind, you gained that gift. And now, you can cause excruciating pain."

Everyone was shocked and slightly fearful.

"Well, let's not make Bella mad from now on," said Emmett playfully.

Rosalie regained her voice. "This can actually help us," now she was the one to receive the questioning glances. "We will finally be able to get our hands on Victoria. Once we see her, Bella can just use that gift to incapacitate her and, well, you know the rest."

At that, Bella ran up the stairs to Edward's room with tears in her eyes. He quickly followed, calling her name as he went. The rest of the family just sat there, fearful and confused.

Edward found her crying into his pillow. He sat down beside her and began rubbing her back comfortingly.

"I don't want this Edward," she said between sobs. "What if I get too mad at the wrong person? What if I get mad at you? I couldn't live with my self after doing that to someone."

He looked down at her with pitying eyes. "Bella, in what world could either of us get mad at each other? You won't use it. You have a good heart and won't be able to cause pain."

Bella sat up and gave him the biggest hug she could. Deep down she knew he was right and knew that she could deal with it.

"I guess I'm as dangerous as Jacob now." The second she said that she knew it was wrong. Edward tensed next her. _Don't say that. I don't even want that dog mentioned._

What a way to end I know. Sorry it was so short. I'm having a bit of writers block. If names are spelled wrong, blame me. I was too lazy to go get the book. Hope you like it. Tell me what you think of her gift.


	6. Last Day

"I don't see why I can't just _visit_ him, Edward," Bella yelled. "I don't even have to talk about this," she pointed to herself, gesturing her change. "He was, is my best friend. I can't just turn my back on him. Charlie wouldn't have wanted that."

Edward heaved a huge sigh. They were in his room, making room for Bella's few things. "Don't you understand? I broke the treaty. We will lose all the peace Carlisle worked so hard to gain. I don't think they found out yet, other wise we would have heard from them. If they see you as one of us, all will be lost."

This was their first argument since the transformation. Bella was still defending Jacob because of the friendship they had when she was depressed.

"He'll want to know if I'm alright. I don't want him to think I've dropped off the face of the earth."

"He won't. Esme sent a letter saying that you were staying here to recover from the shock of the accident," Edward grinned as if this was the perfect idea.

Bella threw the stack of CD's she was holding on to the bed. "What about our school friends? Angela, Ben, Mike, do we abandon them too?"

He smiled. "That's a short list. And they have each other. But, you're right. You, Alice, and I do have to, some how, finish out the school year."

"Fine, so when can I visit Jacob?" she tried to say that with a little humor, but he wasn't amused. _No, don't ask again, please?_

Later that night, Bella and Esme convinced Edward to play them some music on his piano. He started with Esme's song and ended with Bella's lullaby. Carlisle was at the hospital and wouldn't be home until the morning. Emmett and Rosalie went hunting. Both of them were excruciatingly thirsty and wanted to have some fun. Alice and Jasper both hid away in Jasper's room.

Wednesday morning dawned with a predictable cloud of rain. This was the day they were set to go back to school. Bella was afraid of being around humans. She wasn't sure how her lack of thirst would hold up around her old friends.

As Bella, Edward, and Alice got into the silver Volvo, Edward looked at Bella. "Are you sure you can do this? We can miss the last two months of our senior year, you know."

She looked back at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you questioning my self control?"

"No," he said softly. "You just looked a little sick."

Bella leaned over and kissed him. "I'll be fine. Apparently all goes well today. Alice didn't see any attacks on our part."

Alice looked at Edward and grinned. _We will have a wonderful day. Nothing exciting happens and I mean that in a good way. _

The drive to Forks High School was quiet. There were no spoken words or unspoken conversations. People stared as the familiar Volvo pulled into the parking lot. Bella got out with her jacket on and the hood up. She was fully aware of her differences and knew that the student body would notice them. Edward put his arm around her and Alice went in a different direction.

Luckily for the vampires, there were no finals to make up. It was the last few days and classes were boring. Bella knew that at some point she was going to have to take off her jacket, or at least put the hood down. Edward tried to send comforting thoughts to her throughout the day, but it wasn't working. Being back in Forks High School reminded her too much of Charlie.

They caught up to Alice at lunch. Bella didn't get any food to pretend to be human.

"Angela wants to talk to you, Bella. Alone," whispered Edward. He and Alice went to pretend to be thirsty for a soda as Angela came over. Bella slowly looked up, keeping her head back in her hood and hands in her pockets.

"Hi Bella," Angela said as she sat in the seat that Alice was just in.

"Hi Angela," Bella wasn't entirely ready to be comforted by another human. Another human would bring up her parents' sudden deaths and her changes.

She looked at Bella cautiously. "Are you going to be all right? That was horrible, what happened to you, I mean."

"I think so. It's just really hard. I never spent that much time with Dad, and I moved away from Mom, and now they're gone. But, I am staying with some nice people now."

Angela tried to scan her face but she could only see the faint glow of her pale face. "You're staying with Edward aren't you? He has a nice family to take in another teenager like that."

Bella laughed a little. "Yeah, Carlisle and Esme are kind. So are the others, they took me in like family." _I wish I could just tell her everything. I don't think anyone would like that. I hate hiding things from her._ She glanced down at the floor. "I'm sorry I'm not much for conversation, Ang. I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things."

Angela smiled kindly. "I understand. Just remember, you can tell me anything." She touched Bella's arm and walked away.

No sooner had she left than Edward and Alice were back at their normal seats. Alice looked a little discomforted.

"Bella, you do know that you can _never_ tell another human what we are, right?" she was leaning toward Bella and saying this very quickly.

Bella looked down at the table. "I know. I would just be nice, you know, to be able to tell her everything."

"I know, Bells. But, we can't do that." Edward wrapped his arm around her comfortingly. They sat there for the rest of the lunch mod in silence. Mike Newton kept looking over at Bella.

She and Edward were laughing to themselves on the way out the door.

"Seems like Newton's more jealous than before," said Edward playfully.

"Eventually he'll understand that I'm not available and he'll just have to stick with Jessica." Bella cringed at the thought. Jessica really started to get on Bella's nerves. She just would not stop staring ever since Bella came back.

The rest of the day passed quietly. In gym class, Edward and Bella sat in a corner watching their class mates who wanted to play basketball. Bella could not keep her mind off of Jacob. He looked so hurt when she saw him last. She wanted to comfort him, but she knew that her mere presence would make him turn into a wolf. Jacob would never be able to talk to her in human form simply because of her smell. And if he hated it when Edward heard his thoughts, he would definitely hate it if she was hearing his thoughts.

At last the bell rang and all the seniors ran out of the school, never having to return except for graduation. Bella and Edward walked quietly to the Volvo behind Alice. They drove home in happy silence. They were done at Forks High School and could continue their lives. They planned to go to collage in Alaska.

When the Volvo pulled into the driveway of the scenic Cullen house and entered, there was a surprising message on the answering machine for Bella.

"Hey Bella, I know you're here since you aren't at my place. Look, I'm sorry about Charlie and Renee. I need to talk to you. Call me when _he_ gives you the chance. I hope you call soon. I've missed you. Bye." It was clearly Jacob's voice on the phone.

Okay, I just want to say sorry about the long wait. I read Eclipse so this is going to be very hard to write. I'm also sorry for the short chapter. I hope the next one is longer and updated sooner. Please review.


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